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Compared the alcohol-related attitudes and stereotypes of 677 Papua New Guinea high school youth, 315 Australian, and 166 American students. While the overwhelming majority of Australian and American students had drunk alcohol, the majority of Papua New Guinean young people had not. (JAC)

Rich nature of social media data offers a great opportunity to examine social worlds of its users. Further to wide range of topics being discussed on social media, alcohol-related content is prevalent on social media and studies have found an association between this content and increased consumption of alcohol, cravings for alcohol and addiction. This study analyses social media data to examine social worlds of risky drinking in Victoria, Australia. This study conducted a scoping literature review and two online surveys, one with the general community and the other with health professionals, to determine key words to search for on social media sites. These keywords were used in a social media analytics tool called Talkwalker to generate quantitative and qualitative data on the social media users and their conversations. NVIVO was used for developing categories and themes in a sample of 172 posts. A total of 1,021 results were obtained from Twitter. The main demographic group found to be involved in conversations about drinking alcohol on Twitter was young fathers aged 25–34 years. The culture of alcohol consumption in Victoria for Twitter users is reflective of Australia's drinking culture within which risky drinking, and in particular binge drinking, is normalised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is the single biggest health threat facing humanity. The production, distribution and consumption of many fast-moving consumer goods contribute substantially to climate change, principally through releasing greenhouse gas emissions. Here we consider just some of the ways that alcohol—already a key contributor to an array of health, social and economic burdens—exacerbates environmental harms and climate change. We explore current evidence on alcohol production as a resource- and energy-intensive process, contributing to significant environmental degradation through water usage and other carbon emission costs. We argue that the impacts of alcohol production on climate change have been minimally explored by researchers. Yet the extent of the unfolding catastrophe beholds us to consider all available ways to mitigate unnecessary emissions, including from products such as alcohol. We then turn to suggestions for a research agenda on this topic, including investigations of commercial determinants, inequalities and product advice to help consumers choose lower-carbon options. We conclude by arguing that public health researchers already have an array of methodological expertise and experience that is well placed to produce the evidence needed to inform regulation and efforts by alcohol producers and consumers to minimize their contributions to environmental harms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: A mandatory pregnancy warning was introduced in Australia 2020 to advise the public of the potential harms of prenatal alcohol exposure. Due to industry pressure, a 3‐year implementation period was granted. The aim of this study was to analyse the extent to which the mandatory warning had been applied to ready‐to‐drink (RTD) alcohol product labels almost 2 years into the implementation period. Methods: The sample included 491 RTD products sold in three alcohol stores in Sydney, Australia in March–May 2022. Identified warnings were categorised as a mandated warning, a DrinkWise warning (an industry‐developed option) or 'Other' warning. Analyses were conducted overall and by RTD type. Results: Almost all (94%) of the sampled RTD products had some form of pregnancy warning, but only 36% displayed the mandatory version. Of the non‐mandatory warnings, 74% were DrinkWise warnings (42% of total sample) and 27% were 'Other' warnings (15% of total sample). There was no apparent relationship between alcohol content and likelihood of displaying a mandatory warning. Discussion and Conclusions: Two years into the three‐year implementation period for the mandatory pregnancy warning, only around one‐third of the assessed RTD products exhibited compliance. Uptake of the mandatory pregnancy warning appears to be slow. Continued monitoring will be required to determine whether the alcohol industry meets its obligations within and beyond the implementation period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To test whether showing spectators counter‐advertisements exposing alcohol harms alone, or exposing alcohol harms and alcohol sponsorship, before watching an alcohol‐sponsored sporting event promotes less favourable post‐event attitudes and intentions towards alcohol sponsor brands and alcohol in general. Design: On‐line between‐subjects experiment. Setting: Australia. Participants: A sample of Australian adults aged 18–49 years who planned to watch an alcohol‐sponsored National Rugby League (NRL) State of Origin series game was recruited through an online panel. Interventions: Participants were randomly assigned to one of three counter‐advertising conditions: control (neutral advertisement); counter‐advertisement exposing alcohol harms; and counter‐advertisement exposing alcohol sponsorship and harms, to view at least four times during the week before watching the alcohol‐sponsored sporting event. Measurements Participants (n = 1932) completed a pre‐test questionnaire a week before the sporting event. Within 4 days of watching the sporting event, participants completed post‐test measures assessing sponsor brand awareness, attitudes and preferences towards the brand, as well as knowledge, attitudes and intentions for alcohol in general (n = 1075). Findings Compared with the control advertisement, the counter‐advertisement exposing alcohol sponsorship and harms promoted higher (6–13%) awareness of sponsor brands, less favourable attitudes towards sponsor brands and drinking beer, lower purchase intentions for sponsor brands (Cohen's d = 0.15, 0.31, 0.27, respectively) and perceived less image‐based similarity and fit between the sporting event and sponsor brands (Cohen's d = 0.20 and 0.56). Both counter‐advertisements promoted lower perceptions of the appropriateness of consuming alcohol while watching sport (Cohen's d = 0.22 and 0.34), higher awareness of alcohol harms (6–34%) and higher intentions (8–13%) to reduce alcohol consumption than the control advertisement. Conclusions: At alcohol‐sponsored sporting events, counter‐advertisements addressing alcohol harms may promote knowledge of harms and intentions to drink less. Counter‐advertisements that additionally expose and critique alcohol sponsorship may detract from perceptions of sponsor brand image and intentions to purchase the sponsor's products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In Australia, cask wine is the cheapest alcoholic beverage available, offering the lowest price per standard drink. Despite this, there is little research on the contextual correlates of cask wine consumption. Therefore, the current study aims to describe how cask wine consumption has changed over the last decade. Then, through comparisons between cask and bottled wine, how prices, typical drinking locations, and patterns of consumption differ between the beverages. Methods: Cross‐sectional data was drawn from two sources. Four waves of the National Drug Strategy Household Survey were used (2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019) in order to examine consumption trends over time. The International Alcohol Control study (2013) in Australia was additionally used to explore pricing and consumption trends in greater detail. Results: Cask wine was considerably cheaper than other forms of wine at $0.54 per standard drink (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.45–0.62, p < 0.05). Consumption trends associated with cask wine differed from that of bottled wine, being consumed almost entirely at home and in significantly greater quantity (standard drinks per day 7.8, 95% CI 6.25–9.26, p < 0.05). Among the heaviest drinkers, 13% (95% CI 7.2–18.8, p < 0.05) consumed cask wine as their main drink, compared to 5% (95% CI 3.76–6.24, p < 0.05) consuming bottled wine. Conclusions: Cask wine drinkers are disproportionately more likely to consume higher amounts of alcohol, paying less per drink doing so compared to bottled wine drinkers. As all cask wine purchases were under $1.30, a minimum unit price may largely affect cask wine purchases, applying to a far smaller proportion of bottled wine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol labelling laws and policy are contentious and highly politicized. Very few countries have been able to implement health warnings on alcohol labels due to complex legal and governance systems and coordinated industry lobbying. In 2020, Australia and New Zealand implemented a mandatory and evidence-based legal standard for pregnancy warning labels on alcohol products. This article discusses some of the challenges faced in achieving policy change and how these barriers were overcome by public health advocacy groups to build the evidence, counter industry conflicts of interest, consumer test health messages, mobilize community support and gather political support. Reflecting on the decades of ineffective regulation and politicization of this health issue, lessons for other countries include the importance of creating and maintaining relationships with decision makers and regularly updating them with evidence and recommendations, highlighting industry failures and tactics, building broad-based coalitions and sharing lived-experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strange as it may seem, Treasury, brewers, winemakers, distillers and drinkers all share a common interest: The taxation of alcohol and its price elasticity of demand. Treasury needs this information to determine revenue, the industry for pricing purposes, and drinkers bear the burden of taxation. This paper presents new estimates of demand elasticities of beer, wine and spirits for Australia. The estimates are considerably lower than those of Srivastava et al. (2014), who used monthly, off-premise consumption. Frequency of purchase and location of drinking are most likely the source of the differences. The paper demonstrates the importance of demand elasticities with simulations of changes in the tax mix for alcoholic beverages with partial and general equilibrium approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background There is growing interest in Food is Medicine programs that incorporate food-based interventions into health care for patients with diet-related conditions. Objectives We aimed to test the feasibility of a "produce prescription" program and its impact on diet quality for people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) experiencing food insecurity in Australia. Methods We conducted a pre–post intervention study in n  = 50 adults experiencing food insecurity with T2D and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) ≥8%. Once enrolled, participants received healthy food boxes weekly free of charge, with the contents sufficient to create 2 meals/d, 5 d/wk for the entire household, over 12 wk. Participants were also provided with tailored recipes and behavioral change support. The primary outcome was change in diet quality assessed by 24-h diet recalls. Secondary outcomes included differences in cardiovascular disease risk factors; blood micronutrients; and feasibility indicators. Differences in the baseline and 12-wk mean primary and secondary outcomes were assessed by paired t tests. Results Participants were older adults with mean ± SD age 63 ± 9 y (range: 40–87 y), HbA1c 9.8% ± 1.5%, and 46% were female. Overall, 92% completed the final study follow-up for the primary outcome. Compared with baseline, diet quality improved at week 12, with an increase in the mean overall diet quality (Alternate Healthy Eating Index score) of 12.9 (95% CI: 8.7, 17.1; P  < 0.001), driven by significant improvements in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, red/processed meat, trans fat, sodium, and alcohol consumption. Blood lipids also improved (total:HDL cholesterol: −0.48; 95% CI: −0.72, −0.24; P  < 0.001), and there was significant weight loss (−1.74 kg; 95% CI: −2.80, −0.68 kg, P  = 0.002), but no changes in other clinical outcomes. Participants reported high levels of satisfaction with the program. Conclusions These findings provide strong support for an adequately powered randomized trial to assess effects of produce prescription as an innovative approach to improve clinical management among individuals with T2D experiencing food insecurity. This trial was registered at https://anzctr.org.au/ as ACTRN12621000404820. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining the prevalence of alcohol-related content on social media is important to guide education initiatives and interventions in this space. We aimed to assess the performance of the pre-developed alcoholic beverage identification deep learning algorithm (ABDILA) to automatically quantify alcoholic beverage prevalence in user-generated Instagram images. 6,121 images were gathered from Instagram using 'Splendour in the Grass' related hashtags, an Australian music festival. These images were manually annotated as containing beer, champagne, wine, or anything else. The images were subsequently run through ABIDLA, which made predictions on their same categorical contents. We then assessed overall model accuracy (relative to human annotations), model accuracy of alcohol-containing images (overall accuracy and across beverage categories), and visually inspected images to extract common features of congruent- or mis-categorisations. While overall accuracy was high, congruent classifications were heavily skewed towards non-alcohol images. The algorithm consistently overestimated the number of images containing alcoholic beverages, and inspection revealed that these false positives were largely driven by image context and colour. While such algorithms show early promise as a rough automated estimation tools for large datasets on social media, this study highlights some critical improvements and directions for applying pre-trained algorithms in this space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Methods: Competition regulation has a strong influence on the relative market power of firms. As such, competition regulation can complement industry-specific measures designed to address harms associated with excessive market power in harmful consumer product industries. This study aimed to examine, through a public health lens, assessments and decisions made by competition authorities in four jurisdictions (Australia, South Africa, the United States (US), and the European Union (EU)) involving three harmful consumer product industries (alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, tobacco). We analysed legal case documents, sourced from online public registers and dating back as far as the online records extended, using a narrative approach. Regulatory decisions and harms described by the authorities were inductively coded, focusing on the affected group(s) (e.g., consumers) and the nature of the harms (e.g., price increases) identified., Results: We identified 359 cases published by competition authorities in Australia (n = 202), South Africa (n = 44), the US (n = 27), and the EU (n = 86). Most cases (n = 239) related to mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Competition authorities in Australia, the US, and the EU were found to make many decisions oriented towards increasing the affordability and accessibility of alcohol beverages, soft drinks, and tobacco products. Such decisions were very often made despite the presence of consumption-reduction public health policies. In comparison, South Africa's competition authorities routinely considered broader issues, including 'Black Economic Empowerment' and potential harms to workers., Conclusion: Many of the competition regulatory decisions assessed likely facilitated the concentration of market power in the industries we explored. Nevertheless, there appears to be potential for competition regulatory frameworks to play a more prominent role in promoting and protecting the public's health through tighter regulation of excessive market power in harmful consumer product industries., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

This perspective piece calls for health promotion action to regulate alcohol product marketing targeting women and create environments where it is possible to mitigate the harms of alcohol and protect women's health. Drawing on the Global Alcohol Action Plan in the context of the Australian National Women's Health Strategy 2020-30, we consider critical actions for gender-responsive health promotion to protect women from the ways alcohol companies market their products utilizing women's gendered social roles and entrenched stereotypes. We show how these subtle yet powerful gendered approaches to alcohol marketing have the potential for harm yet are not covered by the current mechanisms of the self-regulated Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code. We draw on the World Health Organization's 2024 Framework on Gender-Responsive Approaches to the Acceptability Availability and Affordability of Alcohol and make a call to regulate alcohol marketing targeting women., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Introduction: There is growing concern over the lack of regulation of alcohol advertisements on social media platforms frequented by youths. This study aims to build upon existing literature by assessing the frequency with which young Australians (17-25) are shown advertisements promoting alcohol use and the themes utilised in these advertisements., Methods: A total of 125 Australian youths (mean age 18.74 years; 74.40% female) were recruited in exchange for course credit to participate in an online study. Participants scrolled through Facebook or Instagram for a period of 30 min and screenshotted any alcohol advertisements encountered. Participants then identified the advertisement qualities (or 'themes') present in the advertisements, based on pre-identified categories. Demographic, social media usage and historical personal, peer or familial substance use behaviour data was also collected., Results: Seventy-one university students were exposed to 796 alcohol advertisements across both platforms, and they encountered an advertisement every 2 min and 43 s on average. Most advertisements included call to action features on both Facebook (78.80%) and Instagram (71.17%). Advertisements relating to ease of access (promoting subscription/home delivery; 41.72% and 42.56%) and sales incentives (special offers, promotions, samples or bonuses with purchase; 43.70% and 46.84%) were most common across both platforms., Discussion and Conclusions: Alcohol advertisements are highly prevalent online, particularly among Australian youth social media users. Future research should endeavour to identify whether temporal use of alcohol is a predictor of subsequent exposure to alcohol advertising on social media, and whether this exposure is likely to increase successive alcohol use behaviours., (© 2024 The Author(s). Drug and Alcohol Review published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.)

In many ways, the COVID-19 pandemic provided a natural experiment for alternate ways of living and working. Although alcohol supply was one of many aspects impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, few of those alcohol-related measures have been continued. This commentary presents a unique case study from the Gove Peninsula in northern Australia, where pandemic restrictions acted as a catalyst for a review of an established alcohol management system. A permit system was introduced on the Gove Peninsula in 2008 to control who can purchase takeaway alcohol and how much they could buy each day. Development of the system was rooted in the principles of community development and self-determination. This commentary describes how COVID-19 and associated changes in levels of alcohol harms mobilised community support for a review of the system, that had operated unchanged for the past decade. COVID-19 was adventitious in revealing compelling localised information which encouraged examination of potential improvements to the system. An updated regime is now being trialled, which sets daily limits on the alcohol purchases of everyone in the area. This experience illustrates the benefits of timely and relevant data to assist communities in formulating local solutions to local problems., (© 2024 The Author(s). Drug and Alcohol Review published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.)

Alcohol pricing policies may reduce alcohol-related harms, yet little work has been done to model their effectiveness beyond health outcomes especially in Australia. We aim to estimate the impacts of four taxation and minimum unit pricing (MUP) interventions on selected social harms across sex and age subgroups in Australia. We used econometrics and epidemiologic simulations using demand elasticity and risk measures. We modelled four policies including (A) uniform excise rates (UER) (based on alcohol units) (B) MUP $1.30 on all alcoholic beverages (C) UER + 10 % (D) MUP$ 1.50. People who consumed alcohol were classified as (a) moderate (≤ 14 Australian standard drinks (SDs) per week) (b) Hazardous (15–42 SDs per week for men and 14–35 ASDs for women) and (c) Harmful (> 42 SDs per week for men and > 35 ASDs for women). Outcomes were sickness absence, sickness presenteeism, unemployment, antisocial behaviours, and police-reported crimes. We used relative risk functions from meta-analysis, cohort study, cross-sectional survey, or attributable fractions from routine criminal records. We applied the potential impact fraction to estimate the reduction in social harms by age group and sex after implementation of pricing policies. All four modelled pricing policies resulted in a decrease in the overall mean baseline of current alcohol consumption, primarily due to fewer people drinking harmful amounts. These policies also reduced the total number of crimes and workplace harms compared to the current taxation system. These reductions were consistent across all age and sex subgroups. Specifically, sickness absence decreased by 0.2–0.4 %, alcohol-related sickness presenteeism by 7–9 %, unemployment by 0.5–0.7 %, alcohol-related antisocial behaviours by 7.3–11.1 %, and crimes by 4–6 %. Of all the policies, the implementation of a $1.50 MUP resulted in the largest reductions across most outcome measures. Our results highlight that alcohol pricing policies can address the burden of social harms in Australia. However, pricing policies should just form part of a comprehensive alcohol policy approach along with other proven policy measures such as bans on aggressive marketing of alcoholic products and enforcing the restrictions on the availability of alcohol through outlet density regulation or reduced hours of sale to have a more impact on social harms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol is a modifiable risk factor for cancer. Public awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer risk is poor; thus, alcohol consumers may be unknowingly putting themselves at increased risk of cancer. One way to raise awareness of alcohol-related cancer is through placing labels warning of cancer risk on alcoholic beverage containers; however, little is known about the impact of such labels. We conducted seven focus groups, comprising participants who self-identified as low-to-moderate alcohol consumers, to gauge public attitudes towards the labels and messages relating to alcohol-related cancer risk. Transcripts of discussions were coded to identify emergent themes. Participants expressed a negative response to the alcohol warning labels, and their talk worked to challenge the legitimacy of alcohol-related cancer messages, and the entities responsible for disseminating the information. These responses functioned to counter any implied recommendation for reduction in speakers' alcohol consumption. These findings illustrate how the general population make sense of information about health risks, using this knowledge to make decisions about personal behaviour. In combination with other public health initiatives, alcohol-warning labels have the potential to increase awareness of cancer risk and help in the fight against cancer, but any messaging will need to account for probable consumer resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To test if there was a reduction in alcohol consumption in wastewater samples in the Northern Territory of Australia after the implementation of a minimum unit alcohol price policy (MUP) in October 2018. Design, setting, cases: Between August 2016 and February 2020, wastewater samples were collected across 66 sites in the Northern Territory and all other states and territories in Australia. Samples were collected every 2 months in capital cities and every 4 months in regional places during this period. Overall, 4917 samples were taken (2816 before MUP and 2101 after). Measurements The number of standard drinks per 1000 people per day in the respective catchment areas was estimated based on the concentration of an alcohol‐specific metabolite, ethyl sulphate in the samples (using the excretion factor of ethyl sulphate, the flow of wastewater entering the wastewater treatment plants and the population of each wastewater catchment). Findings Results from a linear mixed model showed that there was a large drop in alcohol consumption immediately after the MUP in Northern Territory [estimated drop = 1231, 99% confidence interval (CI) = 830, 1633; 38.75%]. There was no significant drop in all other states/territories except for Queensland, which showed a significant but much smaller drop (estimated drop: 310; 99% CI = 114, 550). One year after the MUP, the drop narrowed to 520 (99% CI = 189, 851) and was no longer statistically significant in February 2020 (15 months after MUP; estimated drop = 283, 99% CI = −114, 681). Conclusions: Per‐capita consumption of alcohol appears to have decreased substantially in the Northern Territory of Australia immediately after the implementation of a minimum unit price but consumption steadily recovered and almost returned to the pre‐MUP consumption level after 15 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Industry self-regulation is the dominant approach to managing alcohol advertising in Australia and many other countries. There is a need to explore the barriers to government adoption of more effective regulatory approaches. This study examined relevance and quality features of evidence cited by industry and non-industry actors in their submissions to Australian alcohol advertising policy consultations. Methods: Submissions to two public consultations with a primary focus on alcohol advertising policy were analysed. Submissions (n = 71) were classified into their actor type (industry or non-industry) and according to their expressed support for, or opposition to, increased regulation of alcohol advertising. Details of cited evidence were extracted and coded against a framework adapted from previous research (primary codes: subject matter relevance, type of publication, time since publication, and independence from industry). Evidence was also classified as featuring indicators of higher quality if it was either published in a peer-reviewed journal or academic source, published within 10 years of the consultation, and/or had no apparent industry connection. Results: Almost two-thirds of submissions were from industry actors (n = 45 submissions from alcohol, advertising, or sporting industries). With few exceptions, industry actor submissions opposed increased regulation of alcohol advertising and non-industry actor submissions supported increased regulation. Industry actors cited substantially less evidence than non-industry actors, both per submission and in total. Only 27% of evidence cited by industry actors was highly relevant and featured at least two indicators of higher quality compared to 58% of evidence cited by non-industry actors. Conclusions: Evaluation of the value of the evidentiary contribution of industry actors to consultations on alcohol advertising policy appears to be limited. Modifications to consultation processes, such as exclusion of industry actors, quality requirements for submitted evidence, minimum standards for referencing evidence, and requirements to declare potential conflicts, may improve the public health outcomes of policy consultations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The current paper examines the proportion of drinking occasions and total alcohol consumed that takes place at off-premise locations. Comparisons are made between high-income countries: Australia, New Zealand, England and Scotland, and across drinker-types: high-risk and lower-risk., Methods: Data were taken from the International Alcohol Control study in Australia (N = 1789), New Zealand (N = 1979), England (N = 2844) and Scotland (N = 1864). The cross-national survey measures location and beverage-specific alcohol consumption. The number of drinking occasions and mean consumption across on- and off-premise locations and the proportion of drinking occasions that high- and lower-risk drinkers had at on- and off-premise locations was estimated for each country., Results: The majority of drinking occasions among high-risk drinkers occurred at off-premise locations across all four countries; Australia 80.1%, New Zealand 72.0%, England 61.7% and Scotland 60.7%. High-risk drinkers in Australia had significantly larger proportions of drinking occasions occurring at off-premise locations compared to England and Scotland. Across all countries, high-risk drinkers and lower-risk drinkers consumed significantly larger quantities of alcohol per occasion at off-premise locations compared to on-premises locations. Finally, the majority of total alcohol consumed occurred at off-premise locations across all countries for high- and lower-risk drinkers., Discussion and Conclusions: As the accessibility to alcohol outside of licensed premises continues to increase, particularly with the expansion of home delivery services, it is important to be mindful of the high proportion of heavy drinking occasions that occur off-premise., (© 2024 The Authors. Drug and Alcohol Review published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.)

Introduction: As people increasingly migrate to online shopping platforms, hard-won improvements in requirements for consumer information provision at the point of sale are being eroded. An example is the alcohol pregnancy warning label for packaged alcoholic beverages that has been recently introduced in Australia and New Zealand. The aim of the present study was to assess the extent to which the pregnancy warning was visible at the online point of sale when the requirement became mandatory in August 2023., Methods: Data for alcohol products sold on the websites of the two largest alcohol retailers in Australia were web-scraped from 1 to 3 August 2023. The captured data for 8343 alcoholic beverages were inspected to determine whether the pregnancy warning was visible., Results: Virtually no products (0.1%) had the mandatory warning visible on the main sales page, and only 7% enabled visibility of the warning via optional product image rotation functionality., Discussion and Conclusions: The almost complete absence of the mandatory pregnancy warnings on the main product pages of major alcohol retailers' websites highlights the regulatory problems posed by the emerging shift to online shopping. The very low prevalence of visible pregnancy warnings is likely to be an overestimate of the extent to which consumers would be exposed to warnings due to images being counted as being present regardless of their quality or readability. New regulation is needed to ensure that mandatory information requirements for harmful products are applied to online shopping contexts., (© 2024 The Authors. Drug and Alcohol Review published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.)

Aims: Restrictions to alcohol availability during the first and second waves of the COVID‐19 pandemic in Australia included closures of businesses where alcohol is sold for on‐premises consumption (pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes), but not where alcohol is sold for off‐premises consumption (take‐away and home delivery). This study aimed to compare beer consumption before and after restrictions to alcohol availability during the first and second waves of COVID‐19 in Australia. Design Interrupted time–series analysis. Setting: Australia. Participants: Estimated resident population aged 15+ years. Measurements: Seasonally adjusted estimates of beer per capita consumption measured in litres of alcohol (LALs) per week, disaggregated by on‐ and off‐premises sales. Findings First‐wave restrictions (week beginning 23 March 2020) were associated with a significant immediate reduction in on‐premises beer per capita consumption [−0.013 LALs, 95% confidence interval (CI) = −0.013 to –0.012, P = < 0.001], but no significant change in off‐premises beer per capita consumption. Partial removal of first‐wave restrictions (week beginning 18 May 2020) was associated with a significant immediate increase in on‐premises beer per capita consumption (+0.003 LALs, 95% CI = 0.001 to 0.004, P = 0.006), but no significant change in off‐premises beer per capita consumption. Second‐wave restrictions (week beginning 06 July 2020) were associated with a significant immediate reduction in on‐premises beer per capita consumption (−0.004 LALs, 95% CI = −0.006 to –0.002, P = 0.001) but, again, no significant change in off‐premises beer per capita consumption. Conclusion: Restricting the availability of on‐premises alcohol during the first and second waves of the COVID‐19 pandemic in Australia was associated with significant reductions in on‐premises beer consumption, but no significant changes in off‐premises beer consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During 2017-18, the Northern Territory (NT) introduced a Banned Drinker Register (BDR) and Minimum Unit Price (MUP) NT-wide; Police Auxiliary Liquor Inspectors (PALIs) in three regional towns; and restrictions on daily purchases/opening hours (DPOH) in one regional town. The BDR is an individual-level alcohol ban; MUP is a pricing policy; and PALIs enforce bans on restricted areas at takeaway outlets. This study examines the impact of these policies on adult domestic and family violence (DFV). We examined DFV assaults and breaches of violence orders from January 2014 – February 2020 using interrupted time series models for NT, Greater Darwin, Katherine, Tennant Creek, and Alice Springs. To account for increasing numbers of individuals on the BDR we tested two timepoints (Sept 2017, March 2018). Following DPOH, assaults (78 %) and alcohol-involved assaults (92 %) decreased in Tennant Creek. After PALIs, assaults (79 %) in Tennant Creek, and breaches (39 %) and alcohol-involved breaches (58 %) in Katherine decreased. After MUP, assaults (11 %), alcohol-involved assaults (21 %) and alcohol-involved breaches (21%) decreased NT wide. After MUP/PALIs in Alice Springs, alcohol-involved assaults (33 %), breaches (42 %), and alcohol-involved breaches (57 %) decreased. BDR (Sept 2017) found increases in assaults (44 %) and alcohol-involved assaults (39 %) in Katherine and assaults (10%) and alcohol-involved assaults NT-wide (17 %). There were increases of 21 %-45 % in breaches NT-wide, in Darwin, Katherine, and Alice Springs. Following March 2018 found increases in assaults (33 %) and alcohol-involved assaults (48 %) in Katherine. There were increases - from 20 % to 56 % - in breaches in NT-wide, Katherine, and Alice Springs. PALIs and DPOH were associated with some reductions in DFV; the BDR was associated with some increases. The upward trend commences prior to the BDR, so it is also plausible that the BDR had no effect on DFV outcomes. Although MUP was associated with reductions in the NT-wide model, there were no changes in sites without cooccurring PALIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic impacted alcohol control. • We developed a classification scheme based on WHO policy domains to map alcohol control policy changes. • Over 100 changes to alcohol control policies were observed during just three months. • Most alcohol control policies during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted alcohol availability. • Few policies weakened alcohol control by allowing take away or home delivery of alcohol. Policy changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted on alcohol control. This study describes the development and application of a classification scheme to map alcohol policy changes during the first three-months of the COVID-19 pandemic in five countries and/or subnational jurisdictions. A pre-registered systematic review of policy decisions from March to May 2020, in Australia/New South Wales, Canada/Ontario, Chile, Italy and the United Kingdom. One author extracted the data for each jurisdiction using a country-specific search strategy of government documents. We coded policy changes using an adapted WHO classification scheme, whether the policy was expected to tighten or loosen alcohol control, have mainly immediate or delayed impact on consumption and harm and impact the general population versus specific populations. We present descriptive statistics of policy change. We developed a classification scheme with four levels. Existing policy options were insufficient to capture policy changes in alcohol availability, thus we added seventeen new sub-categories. We found 114 alcohol control policies introduced across the five jurisdictions, covering five (out of ten) WHO action areas. The majority aimed to change alcohol availability, by regulating the operation of alcohol outlets. All countries introduced closures to on-premise alcohol outlets and, except Chile, allowed off-sales via take away or home delivery. We also observed several pricing policies introducing subsidies to support the alcohol industry. Seventy-four percent of policy changes were expected to tighten alcohol control and 12.3 % to weaken control. Weakening policy changes were mostly related to retail mode switching or expansion (allowing take away or home delivery). Alcohol control policies during the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic were targeted primarily at alcohol availability and about one tenth might weaken alcohol control. Temporary changes to alcohol retail during the COVID-19 pandemic, if made permanent, could significantly expand alcohol availability. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issue Addressed: Selling alcohol to a minor is a serious offence in the New South Wales Liquor Act. However, minors report they can purchase alcohol easily. This study used an intersectoral partnership between the Central Coast Local Health District (CCLHD) Health Promotion Service, and Liquor & Gaming NSW (L&GNSW) Compliance Operations to test a site visit intervention to increase ID checks at packaged liquor outlets (PLOs)., Methods: As the current legislative framework does not allow minors to attempt to purchase alcohol from PLOs, even under compliance operations, this study employed pseudo-minors aged 18-19 years. Pseudo-minors visited all PLOs on the Central Coast, NSW in four survey rounds, attempting to purchase alcohol without ID. If a PLO sold alcohol to the pseudo-minor, they received a visit from a Health Promotion Officer and L&GNSW Inspector to inform them of the sale and that they are at risk of selling alcohol to a minor., Results: Site visits were an effective intervention to increase the rates of ID checking. Alcohol sales to pseudo-minors without ID decreased from 34% in Round 1 to 7% in Round 4. Young sales staff and independent stores were less likely to check ID., Conclusions: This intervention was associated with some of the lowest rates of underage alcohol purchasing reported to date. However, it may not be sustainable in the long term. It is recommended that: future studies randomise site visits to investigate their contribution to the observed reduction, cost effectiveness of the intervention is explored and legislative change to allow controlled purchase operations for alcohol is considered. SO WHAT?: Young people under 18 years of age should not be able to purchase alcohol from liquor licence outlets, and strong laws apply if a sale is detected. However, despite these rules, young people still report they can access alcohol in this manner. Whilst our intervention of site visits with the regulatory body saw decreases in sales to our pseudo-minors, we advocate for controlled purchase operations (similar to tobacco control) as a more sustainable and effective intervention to reduce sales to minors - while this is not yet legislated for packaged liquor outlets in Australia, it is deemed best practice in other countries., (© 2023 Australian Health Promotion Association.)

Objective: Governments' limited adoption of evidence-based policies to reduce alcohol-related harm has been partly attributed to alcohol industry influence. A better understanding of industry political strategy may help protect public policy against vested interests. We examined how industry actors used scientific evidence in their submissions to government alcohol policy consultations.Method: We conducted a content analysis of 214 submissions from industry actors in 21 Australian public consultations between 2013 and 2017. Represented industry actors included alcohol producers and retailers, trade associations, licensees, and associated entities that derive commercial benefit from alcohol (e.g., advertising companies). Adapting an existing framework, we classified industry practices into two categories: (a) misuse of evidence and (b) denial of the effectiveness of evidence-based strategies.Results: Almost all submissions (91%) denied the effectiveness of evidence-based strategies; the most common denial practices were making unsubstantiated claims about adverse effects of policies (76%) and promoting alternatives without evidence (71%). The misuse of scientific evidence was apparent in 66% of submissions. Trade associations, producers, and retailers were most likely to use such practices.Conclusions: The extent to which the examined industry actors misused scientific evidence in their submissions to a wide range of alcohol policy consultations in Australia suggests the need for governments to consider excluding the industry from consultation on the regulation of alcohol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The need for qualified employees in wineries leads to a gain in importance of human resource management in the wine industry. Knowledge on job satisfaction of employees in wineries and cooperatives as well as research in human resource management is rare. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this qualitative study is to find aspects affecting job satisfaction of employees in Austrian and German wineries. These identified aspects were analysed with regard to the perceived satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the employees. METHOD: Sixteen qualitative interviews were conducted in Austria and Germany with employed winemakers, production managers and vineyard managers. RESULTS: Aspects of job satisfaction which were found in agricultural studies were validated for employees in wineries. In addition to these influencing factors of job satisfaction, interviewed workers mentioned other important aspects, such as equality issues, development of the company and attachment to the final product, which affect their job satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: The positive image of the product wine, the wine sector and the profession contributes to a high job satisfaction overall. The personal interest in wine is one of the major factors of job satisfaction. It reduces dissatisfaction with remuneration, monotonous work processes and long working hours. However, employees in wineries saw problems in reconciling family life and work. Furthermore, employees complained about physical strains leading to possible changes in job or position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Previous studies in older Australians have reported higher alcohol intake in those with low added sugar intake, yet the relationship between energy in liquid form [alcoholic beverages vs. sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB)] and measures of obesity has not been evaluated. We aimed to assess the association between the energy derived from SSB and alcoholic beverages, and to model the association between the substitution of SSB with alcoholic beverages and waist circumference. Methods: In this cross-sectional analysis, dietary data from the Australian Health Survey 2011–12 were analyzed. Participants with implausible dietary intake were excluded by applying the Goldberg cut-off. Usual SSB intake of adults ≥ 19 years old was estimated using the Multiple Source Method and participants were classified into zero-, low- or high-SSB consumers according to their usual SSB intake. Energy from alcoholic beverages in the three SSB consumption groups was compared using multivariable general linear models. A substitution model was used to assess the association between the replacement of SSB with alcoholic beverages and waist circumference. Results: Zero-SSB consumers made up 33% of the included participants. In all age groups, zero-SSB consumers had significantly higher energy intakes from alcoholic beverages than low- and high-SSB consumers. Low- and high-SSB consumers had similar consumption of alcoholic beverages. Substituting SSB intake with alcoholic beverage intake was not associated with significant differences in waist circumference in most age groups. Conclusions: Australian adults who avoid SSB are common but consume substantially more energy in the form of alcoholic beverages. An increase in alcoholic beverage intake could be an 'unintended consequence' of strictly discouraging SSB consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Trade liberalization is hypothesized to increase the availability of imported alcoholic beverages in importing countries. This study provides the first longitudinal analysis of the impact of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) on alcohol imports. Design Panel data comprising alcohol‐product (n = 15) by importing country (n = 16) observations from 1988 to 2016 constructed from global databases. The relationship between PTA status, tariff level and alcohol imports were assessed using a log‐linear model. Unobserved heterogeneity was addressed through a combination of differencing and product‐year fixed‐effects. Setting: Australia and its 16 free trade partners (PTA year in parentheses), classified by low [< 50%: Brunei (2010), Cambodia (2010), Indonesia (2010), Malaysia (2010, 2013), Myanmar (2010), Thailand (2003, 2010) and Vietnam (2010)] and high (> 50%: Chile (2009), China (2015), Japan (2015), Korea (2014), Laos (2010), New Zealand (1983, 2010), Philippines (2010), Singapore (2003, 2010) and United States (2005)] percentage of alcohol consumers in the population. Measurements Independent variables were the existence of a PTA with Australia and tariff (border tax) rate on Australian products. Outcomes were (log) Australian imports; and a binary indicator of any imports from Australia. Findings Introducing a PTA has been associated with a statistically significant increase in the share of Australian alcoholic beverage imports in its partner country's total alcoholic beverage import supply, mainly from trade in new alcoholic beverage categories (0.067, P < 0.05). Tariff rate reductions have been associated with increased imports in both low and high consumption country groups; however, the effect has been larger in low consumption countries (−0.189, P < 0.01 compared with −0.016, P < 0.05). The impact of PTA adoption was significant in low consumption countries only (1.141, P < 0.05). Conclusions: Preferential trade agreements involving Australia have been positively associated with alcohol imports from Australia in countries with low rates of alcohol consumption, due primarily to trade in new products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: alcohol; policy; delivery; COVID; online EN alcohol policy delivery COVID online 435 440 6 07/15/20 20200701 NES 200701 The COVID-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on every aspect of our lives, including the way we drink alcohol. Risks associated with online alcohol sales and delivery With online sales and home delivery likely to continue to make up a considerable portion of the alcohol market in Australia for at least the next 3-6 months, it is worth considering the specific issues associated with this mode of alcohol supply. In a recent survey, one in five on-demand alcohol delivery service users reported that their motivation for using the service was because they were over the blood alcohol limit to drive, and 36% said that they would have had to stop drinking alcohol if the delivery service was not available [26]. [Extracted from the article]

Aims: To model the effects of a range of alcohol pricing policies on alcohol consumption in subpopulation groups (e.g. alcohol consumption pattern, and age and income groups) in Australia. Design We used estimated price elasticities to model the effects of proposed pricing policies on consumption for 11 beverage categories among subpopulation groups. Setting: Australia. Participants: A total of 1789 adults (16+ years) who reported they purchased and consumed alcohol in the 2013 Australian International Alcohol Control Study, an adult population survey. Measurements Mean and percentage changes in alcohol consumption were estimated for each scenario across subgroups. The policy scenarios evaluated included: (1) increasing the excise rate 10% for all off‐premise beverages; (2) replacing the wine equalization tax with a volumetric excise rate equal to the current spirits tax rate; (3) applying a uniform excise tax rate to all beverages equal to the current sprits tax rate and a 10 or 20% increase in it; and(4) introducing a minimum unit price (MUP) on all beverages categories at $1.00, 1.30 or 1.50. Findings The effects of different tax and MUP policies varied greatly across different subgroups. The effects of the MUP policy on alcohol consumption increased rapidly in the range from $1.00 to $1.50. Applying a uniform tax rate across all beverages equal to current spirits tax rate, or a 10 or 20% increase beyond that, could generate large reductions in overall alcohol consumption in Australia. Compared with the uniform tax rate with or without further tax increase, introducing a MUP at $1.30 or $1.50 could reduce consumption particularly among harmful drinkers and lower‐income drinkers, with comparatively smaller impacts on moderate and higher‐income drinkers. Conclusions: Both uniform excise tax and minimum unit price policies are predicted to reduce alcohol consumption in Australia. Minimum unit price policies are predicted to have a greater impact on drinking among harmful drinkers than moderate drinkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Few studies have examined drink driving from the perspective of women only. • The lived experience of drink driving engagement examined among 14 Australian women. • Taking a risk, self-medication, and subjective assessment as reasons for drink driving. • Drink driving strengthened by perceived lack of law enforcement and punishment avoidance. In Australia, drink driving remains a serious road safety issue. The few studies that have addressed drink driving behaviour amongst women often focus on aggregated statistical comparisons to men or view the concept of drink driving as part of broader criminological behaviour. In contrast, scant research has directly focused on convicted female drink drivers. The aim of this study was to explore the factors that contribute to drink driving in a cohort of women convicted for drink driving and examine why these women were unsuccessful in mitigating the risk of engaging in drink driving behaviour. The study thematically analysed the narratives of 14 women who had been apprehended and subsequently convicted of a drink driving offence in the state of Queensland (Australia). All participants were recruited by way of their attendance at a drink driving education program. Overall examination of participants' narratives revealed drink driving behaviour derived from a complex set of processes including taking a risk, using alcohol to self-medicate and alleviate psychological distress, basing the decision to drive on subjective assessment, and past engagement in drink driving behaviour and punishment avoidance. Underpinning these themes was the participants lack of awareness about the increasing risks associated with their alcohol consumption levels, with cognisance only being achieved after apprehension. These findings add to the limited research addressing drink driving behaviour among women and highlight important factors to explain why women are increasingly engaging in this risky behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To (1) identify population‐level classes of polysubstance use among young Australians between 2004 and 2016, (2) test if these classes changed over the same period, in terms of class prevalence and probabilities of substance use within each class, and (3) identify demographic and health‐related correlates of polysubstance use. Design Repeated cross‐sectional nationally representative household surveys. Setting: All Australian states/territories. Participants: Young adult samples (aged 18–30 years; 58% females) from the National Drug Strategy Household Surveys (n = 20 350) Measurements Outcomes were the extent of past‐year use of 10 licit (e.g. alcohol), and illicit substances (e.g. cannabis) were used to derive polysubstance use classes. The correlates were gender, age, psychological distress, general health, language background, personal income, education level, remoteness of residence and socio‐economic index for area of residence. Findings Three polysubstance use classes were consistently identified between 2004 and 2016 (SSABIC: 188349): minimal users (MU, ~60%), mainly tobacco, alcohol and cannabis users (TAC, ~30%) and extended range polysubstance users (POLY, ~10%). There were substantial changes in use of different substances within each class over the study period. For example, smoking decreased in all classes (P < 0.05), while harmful alcohol use only decreased in the first two classes (P < 0.05). Factors associated with TAC and POLY were similar over the study period. These included: being male and having an English‐speaking background, a high level of psychological distress, suboptimal health and high personal income. Living in an affluent area was associated with reduced likelihood of being TAC, but an increased likelihood of being POLY. Conclusion: At the population‐level among young Australians between 2004 and 2016, six in 10 did not engage in polysubstance use; four in 10 used a limited range of substances (mainly alcohol, tobacco and cannabis) and one in 10 used an extended range of substances. Over time, the types of substance within the extended polysubstance use class changed substantially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Agency for Research on Cancer first concluded that alcohol causes cancer in humans in 1988. The World Cancer Research Fund has declared that alcohol causes cancer of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus (squamous cell carcinoma), female breast, colon, rectum, stomach and liver. It recommended that alcohol be avoided altogether to prevent cancer. We aimed to quantify the impact of reducing alcohol consumption on future cancer incidence in Australia. We used PREVENT 3.01 simulation modelling software to estimate the proportion of cancers that could potentially be prevented over a 25‐year period under two hypothetical intervention scenarios and two latency periods (20 and 30 years). Under a scenario where alcohol consumption abruptly ceases, we estimated up to 4% of alcohol‐related cancers could be avoided over a 25‐year period (~49,500 cancers, depending on assumed latency). If the maximum consumption of all Australian adults was ≤20 g/day (~two Australian standard drinks), up to 2% of alcohol‐related cancers could be avoided (~29,600 cancers). The maximum proportions were higher for men (6% for no alcohol consumption; 5% for ≤20 g/day) than women (3%; 1%). The proportion avoidable was highest for oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (17% no alcohol consumption; 9% ≤20 g/day), followed by cancers of the oral cavity (12%; 5%) and pharynx (11%; 5%). The cancer sites with the highest numbers of potentially avoidable cases were colon in men (11,500; 9,900) and breast in women (14,400; 4,100). Successful interventions to reduce alcohol intake could lead to significant reductions in cancer incidence. What's new? The International Agency for Research on Cancer first concluded that consuming alcoholic beverages causes cancer in humans three decades ago. Despite downward trends, in Australia 28% of men and 10% of women consume more than the recommended 20 g of alcohol/day. This study shows that under a theoretical intervention that saw the abrupt and total cessation of alcohol consumption, up to 4% of alcohol‐related cancers (~50,000 cancers) could be avoided over a 25‐year period. Up to 2% would be avoided if no Australian adults exceeded national guidelines. Successful interventions to reduce alcohol intake could lead to significant reductions in cancer incidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zero-alcohol beverages (<0.5% alcohol by volume) appear and taste similar to alcoholic beverages but are regulated similarly to soft drinks in many countries, blurring the distinction between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. How parents view provision of zero-alcohol beverages to adolescents is likely a key determinant of adolescent consumption. We investigated factors associated with parents' provision of zero-alcohol beverages to adolescents, including attitudes toward zero-alcohol beverages and demographic, knowledge, and behavioural factors known to be associated with provision of alcoholic beverages. We conducted an online cross-sectional survey of N = 1197 Australian parents of adolescents aged 12–17 years in April–May 2022. We examined associations with zero-alcohol beverage provision using binomial logistic regression, and with future provision intentions using multinomial logistic regression analyses. Factors significantly associated (p <.001) with parents' provision and future intentions to provide zero-alcohol beverages to their adolescent included beliefs that zero-alcohol beverages had benefits for adolescents (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] 2.69 (provision); 3.72 (intentions)), provision of alcoholic beverages (AOR 2.67 (provision); 3.72 (intentions)), and an incorrect understanding of alcohol guidelines for adolescents (AOR 2.38 (provision); 1.95 (intentions)). Parents' provision and intentions to provide zero-alcohol beverages were associated with beliefs about zero-alcohol beverages as well as some factors associated with provision of alcoholic beverages. Precautionary advice to parents that the provision of zero-alcohol beverages may serve to normalise alcohol consumption may be warranted. • Parents who viewed zero-alcohol drinks as beneficial were more likely to provide them. • Parents who provided alcohol were more likely to provide zero-alcohol beverages. • Misunderstanding the alcohol guidelines was associated with zero-alcohol provision. • Advice that zero-alcohol drinks could normalise alcohol consumption may be warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Variation in alcohol availability is an important driver of levels of consumption and harm, with recent increases in online alcohol home delivery use expanding availability. There is limited research on the impacts of these changes and the characteristics of consumers who use alcohol home delivery., Methods: This study presents findings from an online survey (n = 465) of Western Australian adults who had purchased alcohol for home delivery within the past 6 months. Analyses compared high-risk and low-risk drinkers on use of, and exposure to, alcohol home delivery., Results: Compared to low-risk drinkers, high-risk drinkers were significantly more likely to make more frequent online purchases (odds ratio 5.42), utilise same day delivery (odds ratio 2.91) and purchase through specialised online-only retailers (odds ratio 2.69). High-risk drinkers also reported receiving deliveries while intoxicated more often (odds ratio 11.62), and ordering alcohol for delivery to continue a current drinking session (odds ratio 7.47). High-risk drinkers also received advertising for alcohol home delivery more frequently (odds ratio 1.60) than low-risk drinkers. High-risk drinkers also ordered larger quantities of alcohol than low-risk drinkers (M = 49 vs. 32 standard drinks)., Discussion and Conclusions: Findings from this study indicate that these services are popular with high-risk drinkers and potentially undermine other policy efforts to reduce drinking. Within Australia, stronger legislation (such as mandatory delay between order and delivery) and monitoring (e.g., test purchasing for compliance) are recommended., (© 2023 The Authors. Drug and Alcohol Review published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.)

Issues: There is a decline in youth drinking, but also a causal link between alcohol marketing and drinking among young people. Therefore, novel alcohol marketing strategies should be scrutinised, particularly where children are exposed. This includes marketing for zero-alcohol products (ZAP) (containing 0.00% to 1.15% alcohol by volume), which has expanded considerably in recent times. This review examines how the current industry-managed regulatory approach to alcohol marketing applies to ZAPs in Western Australia., Approach: The marketing mix (four Ps of marketing: product, promotion, place, price) was used as a framework to examine federal and state government policies and industry managed codes. Policies were included if they applied to marketing of alcohol products, for example, product labelling, promotion and advertising across various media, the place of purchase and pricing measures (taxation)., Key Findings: ZAPs were inconsistently defined, meaning that products between 0.05% and 1.15% alcohol by volume were covered under some but not all alcohol policy measures, and application to products under 0.5% alcohol by volume was limited., Implications: Government policy should more clearly define alcohol marketing and whether ZAPs and other alcohol brand extensions should be treated in the same way as alcoholic products., Conclusion: In Western Australia, the ways in which alcohol policy measures apply to ZAPs are limited and close attention must be paid to how ZAPs may provide additional marketing opportunities for the alcohol industry., (© 2023 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.)

Introduction: Alcohol exposure is common in popular films, and research has demonstrated a link between alcohol exposure and use. The likelihood of implementing specific policies to reduce the amount of film exposure is dependent on the level of public support; however, evidence is currently lacking. This study investigated how supportive people are of film-related alcohol policies and whether providing information about the amount of film exposure increased support., Methods: Australian adults (N = 252) first provided estimates of how much alcohol they thought were in popular films and then were randomised to either see an infographic about the amount of alcohol in films or not. All participants rated how supportive they were of eight policies., Results: The items 'alcoholic beverages and consumption should not be shown in G or PG rated films' (M = 3.54) and 'alcohol should not be glorified in films' (M = 3.49) were rated significantly higher than the scale's midpoint of 3 (p < 0.001). Participants who were older, female or reported lower alcohol use were more supportive of the policies. Only one policy item, 'information about alcohol sponsorship should be provided' received higher support from those who received the infographic compared to those who did not (M = 3.53 vs. M = 3.05; t(250) = -3.09, p = 0.002)., Discussion and Conclusion: Participants were relatively supportive of film alcohol policies. However, providing information about the amount of alcohol in films did not make a difference on the level of support for most film alcohol policies., (© 2023 The Authors. Drug and Alcohol Review published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.)